The biggest changes to the hotel are the additions of two new ballrooms on the second floor, and a 4,500-square-foot suite and terrace on the roof, above the 14th floor.

Zoning rules limit how much floor area a building can have. To compensate for what was added, the architects consolidated the hotel’s offices. They also removed part of the floor slab between the first and second floors, creating a two-story space in which a grand staircase was built.
Among the losses during the renovation was a lovely domed laylight in the lobby ceiling. It could no longer fit there because of all the added structural reinforcement needed to support the ballroom above.

A new, flat laylight has been installed in its place, with translucent panels that are illuminated from behind by LEDs. Ornamental embellishments, like the Barclay’s recurring crossed-arrow motif, will be added later, said Les Faulk, the InterContinental company’s design director.